Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales
John Hart rested on the large bed in the nursery with Ken curled up next to him. When they were first together John said there were secrets he couldn't share. He couldn't have envisioned then the events that followed. Sooner or later, he'd have to explain Anwen, time travel and where he came from. The relationship he'd previously had with Jack was impossible to hide. What concerned John more was his first visits to Cardiff. Ken was in Cardiff during the explosions and the damage to the nuclear plant.
With Dr. Harper back, past sins were more complicated. When John's thoughts cleared after the coma, he realized why Harper's name sounded familiar. No matter how he excused his actions he caused the doctor's death in this time or universe. Making it worse, Gray fatally shot Toshiko Sato. From what his Anwen gathered from her mother and Jack from Torchwood stories over the years, Harper and Sato would have figured out their connection had they lived. Dr. Harper might overlook how the other version of himself died. Sato's death was another story.
"What's wrong?" Ken shifted, resting a hand on John's shoulder.
John set a hand over Ken's. "Counting my sins."
"I've been lying to my mother. She found out about the attack at the Disney store and that I don't work there anymore."
"Different class of sins."
Ken hesitated. "Why did you give Anwen your necklace?"
John wondered how Ken found out. "When I left to handle a situation in Nova Scotia, I let her have it until I got back. She kept it."
"Anwen was the reason I was transferred from the hospital to Torchwood after what happened to Marvyn Tew at the mall." Ken paused. "My first thought was she's your daughter. I had a lot of time to think while you were in the coma. Little things. There is no place on Earth you could be that Torchwood couldn't reach you. Anwen's crush is a lot more complicated than it should be. The band on her wrist, when it doesn't look like a watch, is exactly the same as yours." Pause. "You're not from this time. You're here to protect her and she knows it."
"I met Anwen in 2042. Two years later, I almost died. She's the reason I'm clean and sober. We were together for five years. She died saving the planet."
Ken took a moment. "Where are you from? Or when?"
"The distant future. I was a Time Agent before the agency disbanded. It's hard to explain."
"That's how you know Jack." Ken shook his head slightly. "The men who attacked the store, and Robert, are from the future?"
"Robert is complicated. The men were enemies from another time or place. I have a lot."
"Were you a mercenary?"
"Yeah."
Ianto Jones yawned. It had been a long day and was far from over. Jack sent a list of names from the facility. When he made arrangements with London and UNIT for doctors and scientists they didn't run backgrounds on them. Even if they had, Ianto doubted they could have predicted what happened. Although past experience with London and UNIT said there could be problems.
He remembered the days leading up to the 456 clearly. Gwen giving herself an ultrasound to confirm her pregnancy led to Jack discovering he had a bomb inside of him. The government decided to kill them instead of allowing Torchwood to handle the alien extortion.
The question was what they were guilty of this time.
Mrs. Sealy, a Cardiff social worker, had a questionable history. She'd been cited more than once for judgment issues and failing to remove children from dangerous situations. After a judge determined she was more likely to remove children from poor families than financially secure families, her case load was transferred. There was no explanation for how she still had a job.
Dr. Kambria Cultrice worked in London as an epidemiologist, but was listed as an internal medicine specialist in the paperwork provided to Rhys. Her Oxford credentials were impressive. A quick Interpol check showed that she'd previously volunteered with international aid organizations like Doctors Without Borders and been barred from countries. Notes indicated she was more interested in researching disease progression than treating patients.
Dr. Delman and Dr. Trowell came from UNIT. Their background information was obviously fake. Neither Europol nor Interpol had information on either. Ianto considered running facial recognition but didn't want to attract UNIT's attention.
Dr. Leanne Grant was provided by London as an independent expert. A quick search showed she worked for Peregrine James research facility in Sheffield. The location sounded familiar. Ianto did a quick Torchwood search. Dr. Palfreyman worked at the same facility several years prior to her Liverpool employment.
A former PJ employee named Gaspard Mery, a toxicologist, worked in Montpelier, France and died in a severe car accident. According to the general's research on the area, there were unexplained deaths around the same time Mery worked in Montpelier. The toxicologist's body was reportedly burned beyond recognition and was identified by an ankle pin.
Ianto tapped his ear com. "Gwen."
"Yeah."
"Have you seen the general's files on the Montpelier cases?"
"Not completely."
"I have a possible lead. We need police reports and autopsy files from Montpelier. I'll send you the information."
"How important?" Gwen sounded hesitant. He couldn't blame her. Anwen had been in a coma for several days.
"He was a toxicologist with pharmaceutical research experience. According to a former employer, he evaluated chemical properties of plants and other natural sources for use in medical treatments."
"Fish?"
"It doesn't specify. Natural dreamfish contamination, however, is believed to be a result of algae or other plants."
"Do you mind watching Trefor while I make calls?"
"No." Ianto welcomed the company.
Anwen Williams swung her legs over the side of the infirmary cot after her mum left. With her friends in the hub, she had the opportunity to show them the part of her life she'd been unable to talk about. The monitor next to her had continual scan readings. After the experiences with the Rift she had looked at her scans enough to know something changed. She needed solid proof for her mum to agree to her joining Wynne and Teleri. She could just leave, but it would cause an argument.
"What are you doing?" Dr. Harper demanded.
"Asking Three to send you back to wherever it found you." She'd heard enough Dr. Harper stories to know he was a genius and an arse. But he was the reason she was still alive.
"Set it down." He crossed the room.
Anwen flipped open her wrist-strap. "Computer, run comparison between Anwen Williams' current medical scan and previous medical scans."
Unfortunately, the notable differences contradict what she wanted. The antibodies repaired the changes or damage caused by using the Rift. Which could make it safer. Or she'd have to repeat the process again the next an alien tried to force it's way through. The general might know. His older sister had survived to forty or more with the ability.
"You know how it works." He sounded resigned rather than surprised.
"Yeah. Are you using the tablet on the counter next to the nanogene station?"
"No."
Anwen held her hand back and telekinetically moved the small computer.
"You need to rest."
"I slept for days." Which reminded her she needed to check on the kids. "Will the antibody treatment work on the others?"
Dr. Harper hesitated. "I don't know."
You should rest. John's voice was reassuring. The connection hadn't been broken.
Are you resting?
Yeah.
The computer chimed. Anwen checked the new readings. You need to come back to the infirmary. If I understand my brain scans, I'm still connected to the hive mind.
Give me a few minutes.
As she waited, she remembered their brief stay at Torchwood Four. The alien space station could link to a person with a strong enough Rift ability. If I'm connected to the hive mind, and distance doesn't lessen the connection, I could go to Dublin and connect the station to the hive mind. Four could possibly tell us where the alien is.
Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada
Liam Doughtery sat in the break room with Matt, trying to concentrate. Having just left a bad relationship with coworkers, he shouldn't have noticed Matt at all. Stress, attraction and guilt were a bad combination. The fact that Trefor wouldn't care somehow made it worse.
"Are you all right?" Matt asked.
"I just need time to myself. I walked out on someone I really care about."
"Why did you leave her?"
Liam looked up from the laptop Eryn gave him. "Really?"
"You mentioned Jeannette earlier."
"She's a kid." He felt guilty about leaving Jeannette. She'd been through a lot. After the abduction attempt, they bonded.
Matt nodded. Liam suspected he already knew that. "Which one of us are you expecting to misbehave?"
"You're gorgeous," Liam said sarcastically. "I can't resist throwing myself at you." He turned back to the computer. The exasperation helped some.
If he was in Dublin, Jeannette would be helping with the site review. He understood social media. Celebrity gossip didn't interest him. Wading through ridiculous articles about who was shagging who didn't help.
"What are you looking for? There isn't enough information about the alien to determine anything we don't already know."
"Articles about rich people who had miraculous recoveries from serious health problems," Liam explained.
"That I can help with. I researched changes in Canada while I was in Nigeria. One of my favorite musicians recently had a cancer scare." Matt quickly searched using his tablet. "A representative said he'd been misdiagnosed. Someone leaked test results showing he had cancer." He held out the tablet. "There."
Their hands brushed. The sensation annoyed Liam. "Thanks."